SUNSET HEIGHTS NEWSLETTER

Sunset Heights Newsletter March 2009

* The following is a warning from Captain Paul Chignell of the Taraval Police District.  This is a continuing problem with local scavenger companies.  The current economy has led our residents to ever bolder attacks on our “Blue Boxes.”  Captain Chignell’s suggestion sounds like a good deterrent to me.

Theft of Recycling Materials is a problem in the Taraval Police District. This is a crime under 293.1 of the Municipal Police Code. Here are some tips in dealing with this issue:

Place your recyclables on the curb by 6:00 AM on garbage day.
Shred paper with personal information.
Organize a Safe Neighborhood Watch--call Safe at 553-1984.
Call 911 if the poachers are aggressive or threatening.
Call 553-0123 to report thieves.
Call Sunset Scavenger at 330-1300 or Golden Gate Disposal at 626-4000 to report the theft of recyclables.

At the SHARP membership meeting on February 25, Supervisor Sean Elsbernd answered questions from members and made a presentation about the state of the City, with emphasis on the budget problem.  He recommended that citizens in our neighborhood send him their suggestions on services they think should absolutely be preserved from budget cuts.  We are also welcome to tell him our ideas about the budget.  His email is Sean.Elsbernd@sfgov.org.   The meeting was very well attended by the neighborhood.  We also heard a brief report on the progress of the SHARP building.  Passing it on to you:
SHARP has signed a contract with building contractor Kiernan Keaney to construct our building at 1738 9th Avenue, and groundbreaking should begin within a month.  We plan to have a celebration for that. Getting the contract finalized was a big accomplishment, involving attorneys on both sides.  Contractor Keaney has provided us a construction loan for two months past the completion of construction, and we are in the process of securing a line of credit from a bank to carry us past that date, with the help of our project manager and former SHARP president John Barry.  The SHARP board is currently busy securing liability and other insurance for our property.  SHARP headquarters and community meeting space will be located in the building, which will also contain two residential homes which will eventually generate income to fund our charitable activities for the neighborhood and the community.

The SHARP board is currently updating its bylaws to reflect revisions in California “Non Profit Regulations” under the guidance of bylaws chair Kay Stegner, board vice president Charles Head and president Frank Noto.  We are changing the bylaws to comply with current nonprofit corporation law under the advice of our attorneys.  The draft bylaws will be presented to the entire membership for consideration later this spring.

State Senator Leland Y. Lee’s District 8 Report contains some items of interest to most of you.  He recently introduced a package of consumer protection bills.  AB 340 intends to curtail the automatic renewal of products or services without the customers approval.  A common example is where a one-time purchase initiates additional services or products charged to the customer’s credit card.  Please read the fine print in the sales agreement!  AB 350 is intended to protect consumers from automotive repair facilities from replacing the damaged parts with poor quality parts in lieu of original manufacturers parts.  A common example is the failure to replace previously deployed air bags leaving the car occupants with no protection.  AB 360 seeks to increase patient safety by mandating that temporary nurses in hospitals have passed all competency requirements.  Be aware that all such legislation will be opposed by those who will lose money by the legislation being passed, “those” meaning lobbyists.  If you have any positive feelings for any of this legislation I suggest that you pass it on to Senator Yee.  His address is State Capitol, Room 4074. Sacramento, CA 95814. Phone: (916) 651-4008, e-mail: dist08.casen.govoffice.com/.  In San Francisco his address is 455 Golden Gate Avenue, Suite 14200,San Francisco, CA 94102, Phone: (415) 557-7857.
 

I also heard from Assemblywoman Fiona Ma via her “Legislative Update.”  First, she writes that California’s High Speed Rail Project is one of the six projects nationwide that will compete for funding dedicated to high speed rail.  The President’s Stimulus Package includes $8 billion dedicated to high speed rail.  This funding will supplement that approved by California voters in Proposition 1-A in November, 2008.  Realistically there remain important problems to be solved.  For example, some of our neighbors “on the Peninsula” have adopted a NIMBY attitude, probably because the design calls for a 15-foot dike on top of which is the track support structure passing through their city.  And I talked to an official in San Jose who stated that his city had yet to approve any routing through his city.  Closer to home, there has been conflicting figures as to how many trains will arrive daily at the San Francisco terminal, which will also serve as the downtown terminal of Caltrain.  This conflict is delaying design of the terminal structure as regards the number of tracks to be provided.   Assemblywoman Ma also announces that this year she will serve as a member of the Agriculture Committee.  She states that California is the nation’s leading fresh vegetable producing state.  We have even risen over Wisconsin as the nation’s leading dairy state since the early 1990s.  You’ve seen the TV commercials extolling this, particularly with regard to California cheese.  And perhaps you’ve also seen those TV ads promoting fresh fruits and vegetables from Chile—pronounced “Chill-ay.”  Being south of the Equator their seasons are the roughly 6 months out of phase with ours.  This applies to any of the countries below the equator, of course, and their agricultural products end up competing with California’s 

SHARP is a 100 year old civic organization open to anyone who lives or works in the area bounded by:
Lincoln Blvd, 7thAve-Laguna Honda, Dewey-Taraval, and 19th Avenue.
Dues are $10.00/year.    The public is welcome....bring a friend!!

Our MARCH meeting will be on Monday, March 30, 2009
at 1600 8th Avenue near Lawton at 7 PM.
Contact us at
president@sharpsf.com, or, better yet, come to a meeting.

 

If you have any information you would like included in the newsletter please mail or e-mail it to me at this address:

Vern Waight, Editor, Phone: (415) 564-7760,
 Email: vernatsf@aol.com
Address: 1711 10th Avenue
San Francisco, CA 94122-4625

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Renew Your Membership Or Join SHARP

The Sunset Heights Association of Responsible People (SHARP) is a 100+ year old neighborhood organization open to anyone who lives or works in the area bounded by Lincoln Blvd, 7th Ave-Laguna Honda, Dewey-Taraval, and 19th Avenue.  Dues are $10.00/year.  We are a member-supported organization devoted to neighborhood improvement, with dues set at $10 per person annually.  Please renew your membership for 2009 or join us by filling out and returning the coupon below in the enclosed envelope.

Printed Name: ___________________________

Address: _______________________________

City: ___________________ ZIP: ___________

Email: _________________________________

Phone: _________________________________

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Mail Coupon to:  SHARP, 1627 Tenth Avenue,
San Francisco, CA 94122